Luna (and the Importance of Belief)
by infiniteparadoxes26
Summary: The morning of Tuesday, the 1st of September, 1992 brought with it a girl with silver eyes, prepared to go from her odd house to the scarlet steam engine she knew would take her to where she knew she wanted to be. Because Luna Lovegood had eagerly awaited the day she would arrive at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
1. Chapter 1

_The girl beside the window looked up. She had straggly, waist length, dirty-blond hair, very pale eyebrows, and protuberant eyes that gave her a permanently surprised look. Harry knew at once why Neville had chosen to pass this compartment by. The girl gave off an aura of distinct dottiness. Perhaps it was the fact that she had stuck her wand behind her left ear for safekeeping, or that she had chosen to wear a necklace of butterbeer caps, or that she was reading a magazine upside down. Her eyes ranged over Neville and came to rest on Harry. She nodded._

 _-Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling, page 185_

 **1**

1 September, 1992

Sunlight streamed through the cracked glass of the window to her bedroom, illuminating the room and bringing with it the long anticipated Tuesday morning. The air was warm, but crisp and sweet, that type of air that can only be found at that time between summer and autumn, when you can feel summer fading, like a dream just after waking up. The smell of the sun-warmed garden drifted in through the window she had left open the night before, when she'd stayed up late to make certain she had packed everything.

She woke up, opening her silvery grey eyes, and sat up in her bed. And slowly but surely, a smile overtook her face, as excitement raced through her. She could smell the Gurdyroot tea her father was brewing in the kitchen, along with the dirigible plum oatmeal he would make on her birthday, up early so they could make it to King's Cross station in time for the train. The train she had been waiting to board since the day she received her letter from the owl post. They had been certain it would arrive, she had been showing magic since the age of five, earlier than most, but nonetheless, the arrival of the letter brought with it the same excitement and pride that it brings to all those who receive their letter with the red wax seal and crest.

Luna Lovegood was going to Hogwarts.

.oO0Oo.

She got out of bed to stand in the centre of her bedroom. It was a small, yet airy-feeling with blue walls, books and copies of _The Quibbler_ stacked in piles, and a small potted plant she had been growing sitting on the windowsill.

She turned to reach towards the small table beside her bed and pick up a book, a worn copy of _The Hobbit_ she had been reading. Her mum had loved it, and would read it to her at night before she went to sleep. Her mum had loved all sorts of muggle things, so while most witches and wizards her age had been reading Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Stump, or the Fair Fountain of Fortune, her mum had read her The Hobbit and Lord of the rings, or Alice in Wonderland. Smiling faintly, she stuck the book in her trunk before latching it tightly shut.

She hurriedly brushed her long, dirty blond hair, got dressed, putting on muggle clothing (purple jeans and a white shirt), along with the necklace she had made with her mother. It had charms made of butterbeer corks, which her mum had told her she'd enchanted them with a spell that would make the wearer of the necklace lucky and keep nargles away. At 8 years old, Luna hadn't believed her, but her mum was the kind of person who could get anyone to believe anything.

Luna fingered her charm lightly, as she wheeled her trunk behind her out her bedroom door. She left the trunk by the top of the spiral staircase and slid down the railing to the kitchen, the way she and her mum would do when she was little.

When she reached the bottom, she hopped off the railing, landing lightly on her feet. Her father was sitting at the small round, wooden table in the kitchen, sipping at his gurdyroot tea, looking over the day's _Daily Prophet._ "G'morning, dear," Xenophilius Lovegood called out affectionately to his daughter.

"Morning, dad," she replied brightly. "My trunk's ready."

"Right you are," her father said in response. "Wingardium leviosa." he said, swishing and flicking his wand in the direction of the staircase, causing Luna's trunk to float lightly down the stairs, landing neatly besides the table. "There's oatmeal on the stove."

Luna made her way through the cluttered kitchen to the stovetop, where she took a bowl and filled it. She brought her breakfast to the table to sit with her father.

"You have your wand?" he questioned her.

She took it from her trunk and showed it to him in response. Coral and Beechwood, 10 ½ inches long, it fit comfortably in her hand, and gave her a warm sort of sensation when she held it. As she raised it to show her father, a small shower of silver sparkles flew from the tip, landing scattered on the kitchen floor. Her father flicked his wand towards the pile, effortlessly cleaning it up. Luna grinned, watching the sparkles fly through the air before disappearing.

As she sat eating her oatmeal, Luna's father finished reading his paper and, after folding it up and placing it on the kitchen table, walked over to the door and stood beside it.

When Luna finished her breakfast, she placed her bowl in the sink and tucked her wand behind her ear. She picked up the handle of her trunk and wheeled it over to where her father was standing, grabbing a cardigan that had belonged to her mother from a hook on the wall. Even though it had been two years since Pandora Lovegood had died, her possessions were still scattered about the house.

Her father opened the door, letting her go out first and following her, closing the door shut behind them. "Hold tight onto my hand. Don't let go, no matter what." he instructed, taking her trunk.

Luna took her wand from behind her ear and grasped it firmly with one hand, taking her father's hand in her other. "I _know_ dad. Don't worry."

"Alright, see you at King's Cross station." he said, smiling. And with that, they disapparated. Luna felt as if she were being compressed, squeezed into nothingness, when suddenly, it was over. They stood in the crowded train station, between platforms nine and ten. "After you." her father said to her. "I'll bring your trunk." He added, beaming with pride as Luna walked towards the brick wall, closing her eyes at the last second, and walked through it as if it were made of air.

When she opened her eyes, she stood on platform 9 ¾ facing a bright red steam engine. The platform was bustling, young witches and wizards stood talking to each other. Luna was standing besides a red-headed family, looking about in concern. "Where _are_ those two boys?" a red-headed lady asked exasperatedly.

"Don't worry, mum," a red-headed boy piped up.

"Yeah," said another boy, identical to the first. "They'll turn up. We couldn't get rid of ickle Ronniekins if we wanted to."

"And we have. On more than one occasion." said the first gravely.

"Quite frequently, actually." added the second.

"All the time." said the first.

"Stop it you two. They must have boarded already. Now where has your father gone?"

Luna looked away from them, turning around to see her father standing with her trunk. "You'll need to get on the train in a moment, dear." he said to her. "You have everything? Your wand?" he asked her, for the umpteenth time.

" _Yes,_ dad. Don't worry." she said, laughing at her father's constant reminding.

"Alright." he said gruffly. "Well, don't forget to write to your old dad. Tell me if you see a moon frog. Someone told me there was a group living somewhere on the Hogwarts grounds" He hugged her tightly "your mum would be so proud of you." he said, taking her wand from her hand and tucking it back behind her ear. "I love you." he said, kissing the top of her head.

"I love you, too, dad. I'll see you at Christmas." and with one last hug, Luna Lovegood boarded the Hogwarts Express.


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

She needed to find a compartment. Everyone else was doing it, the train was quickly filling up and already, there were few compartments available. She wandered down the train, eventually finding an empty compartment. She entered, and laid her trunk down to remove her book. After taking it out she attempted to lift it up onto the luggage rack. After a moment of struggling, she heard two familiar voices behind her.

"Need some help with that?" It was the red-haired twins from the platform.

"Yes. Thank you." She replied gratefully. They each took one end, and together they hoisted it up.

"I'm Fred Weasley."

"And I'm George." They introduced themselves.

"My name's Luna. Luna Lovegood." she told them.

"Nice to meet you Luna Lovegood." George said, offering her his hand to shake. Luna took it and shook the outstretched hand.

"Is it your first year?" Fred asked her kindly.

Luna immediately had no trouble telling them apart, and she nodded in response to Fred's question.

"It's our sisters first year, too" George told her.

"Speaking of which, where is she? Mum told us we had to keep an eye on her." Fred said to his twin. He then leaned out of the compartment and looked around. He bellowed "Ginny?!" And a moment later, a red-haired girl of about Luna's age scampered in.

"Have you seen Ron and Harry?" she asked her brothers breathlessly. Then she noticed Luna. "Hi." she said, still somewhat out of breath from running through the train. "I'm Ginny Weasley."

"Luna." Luna said, sticking out her hand for Ginny to shake, since George did the same to her. Ginny took it tentatively.

"Well Ginny, Fred and I have some matters to attend to." George said to his sister. "Nice meeting you Luna." and with that, they were gone, leaving Ginny behind with Luna.

"I'd better go with them." Ginny told her, almost regretfully. "My mum said to stay with them. But it was nice meeting you."

"You too." Luna replied, somewhat sadly, as Ginny Weasley followed her brothers and left Luna's compartment. After she left, Luna returned to reading, absentmindedly twirling her wand in her fingers. After three-quarters of an hour or so, she stopped. Reaching up towards her trunk, she managed to retrieve a textbook from it: _The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1._ She followed the book's instructions carefully and after an hour or so of trying, Luna could just barely illuminate the tip of her wand and then turn the light back off.

At some point, a girl with bushy brown hair and somewhat large front teeth slid open the door. "Excuse me. Have you seen two boys? One has red hair and freckles, and the other one has black hair and glasses. I can't find them anywhere, and nobody's seen them." the girl said this all fairly quickly.

"No, sorry. But did you mean Ron and Harry?" Luna said to her.

"Yeah. How did you know?" asked the girl, looking somewhat surprised.

"There were some people looking for him. Two brothers and a sister."

"Oh. Right. Well if you do see them, tell them Hermione's looking for them."

"Okay. Well, nice to meet you, Hermione. And I think you'll find your friends. People use to think there were no such things as moon frogs, but in the end, the frogs turned up and they were proved wrong."

Hermione gave her a strange look, somewhat bemused, but with a hint of a smile. "Um… it was nice meeting you too. And thanks anyway." and with that she was gone.

After Hermione left, Luna continued to pour over her spellbook, and by the time the lady with the lunch trolley rolled around, she was almost certain she had almost made her book levitate. Well, it had twitched a bit, but it seemed quite close.

"Anything off the trolley dear?" the lady with the trolley asked her.

"No thank you." Luna responded politely. "But do you know how much longer it should be before we arrive?"

"Should be around two and a half hours." the lady told her, and before Luna could thank her, she had moved on to the next compartment.

.oO0Oo.

By now it had grown dark outside. Through the window, it was visible that a slight fog was rolling in over the countryside. Luna quickly finished changing into her black school robes as Hogsmeade Station grew closer. By now, prefects were walking through the train.

"Leave all your belongings in the train." commanded a red-headed one as students streamed from the train in clusters. From not far away, a booming voice shouted "Firs' years over here! Firs' years come this way!"

Luna spotted the Weasley twins and their sister as she turned towards the source of the shouting. George nodded in her direction. Ginny, who was next to him, waved at her.

Luna followed the group of intimidated looking first years towards the source of the voice. It was a giant man, far taller and wider than anyone she had ever seen. He wore a coat with dozens of pockets, and had a thick, black beard that obscured the bottom part of his face. Despite this, his obsidian black eyes were kind, and they crinkled at the corners as he smiled and waved in the direction of the bushy-haired girl from the train. "A'right, firs' years, come with me. We'll be going across the lake. No more than four to a boat." he told them, gesturing towards a small fleet of rowboats that were bobbing at the edge of the lake.

The first years got into the boats, Luna found herself in one with Ginny, a small boy who introduced himself as Colin Creevey, who appeared to be bursting with excitement, and another boy with light brown hair and green-blue eyes. He didn't introduce himself as he seemed lost in thought, staring into the depths of the Black Lake.

Trying to make conversation with her otherwise silent companions, Ginny asked Luna "What house do you think you'll be in? I want Gryffindor, that's where my whole family's been."

"I want Gryffindor, too!" Colin added in eagerly. "I heard that Dumbledore was in it. And so is Harry Potter! Do you think I'll get to meet him? I'm a muggleborn, so my family never told me about him. But I've read about him and last year he saved the philosopher's stone from you-know-who."

"Oh! My brother, Ron, was with him. They're best friends, he was at my house over summer holiday." Ginny piped up.

Colin looked at her in awe. "That's _wicked_! Do you think you could introduce me to him? Maybe I could get his autograph! What's he like? Does he really have the lightning scar? I bet it's awesome looking. I hope I'm in the same house as him. I can't wait to be sorted." Colin continued talking to Ginny, who looked somewhat overwhelmed. Luna thought she looked rather uncomfortable trying to keep up with Colin's rapid fire questions.

Luna looked ahead. Hogwarts castle loomed above them. It was beautiful. Stone turrets and towers rose unbelievably high. All the windows and entrances were illuminated with the glowing light of candles and lanterns. The massive castle drew nearer as their boats drifted through a lit archway. The giant man who had been leading them got out of his boat, beckoning for them all to follow. The first years got out and followed him through the entrance, looking around in awe.

As they stood in the grand entryway, still becoming familiar with their surroundings, a stern looking witch came through a door to greet them. She had a harsh look about her, and her hair was twisted into a tight bun. Her robes swished gracefully as she walked to the front of the group briskly. "Good evening to you all," she said curtly. A few people mumbled "good evening." in response to her greeting.

"My name is Professor McGonagall. Before we enter the Great Hall, I would like to welcome you all to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As you might know, before you may sit down for the start of term feast, you must be sorted into your houses. There are four houses at Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. While you are at Hogwarts, your house will be like your family. You will eat at your house table, and sleep in your house dormitories. Good behavior will earn you house points, but any misdeeds will result in the loss of points for your house. And I hope each and every one of you will all be a credit to whichever house you are sorted into. Follow me, please."

Luna knew which house she wanted to be sorted into. Both her parents had been in Ravenclaw, and she hoped to be the same. Though it seemed to Luna that any of the other houses would be quite alright, too. It would be nice to have a friend in the same house as her, though, so she hoped she could be sorted with Ginny. Muggles from the nearby village, whenever they saw her, had thought her strange, but hopefully it would be different here. As she contemplated this, she saw the boy from the boat, with the brown hair and blue-green eyes, smiling faintly, again looking lost in thought.

After the professor's short speech, the first years followed her through large wooden doors, and, whispering to each other with both nervousness and excitement, they entered the great hall.


	3. Chapter 3

Luna and the rest of the first years craned their necks as they tried to take in the whole room at once. There were five humongous tables: four filled with students (One for each house, Luna assumed) and one at the front of the room, with teachers, at the very centre of which, sat Albus Dumbledore. He smiled at them from his long white beard, eyes twinkling beneath his spectacles. The ceiling of the Hall looked like the night sky, with the clouds illuminated by the hundreds of levitating candles that all hovered above them, bathing the room in a golden light.

Professor McGonagall motioned for them to stop, and walked to the front of the now quiet room, where an old hat sat on a wooden stool. Luna's father had told her about the sorting hat, but she still felt a bit of surprise when a rip in the brim of the hat opened, and, as if the rip were a mouth, it began to sing.

 _You see me here upon this stool,_

 _Though ragged I may seem_

 _My purpose is to sort you,_

 _See your wishes, hopes, and dreams_

 _For many, many years ago_

 _A conclusion could not be reached_

 _For the founders four could not agree_

 _Which students they should teach_

 _Brave Gryffindor with nerves of steel_

 _Thought the only students learning_

 _Should be those wizards brave of heart_

 _Within whom courage was burning_

 _But then the cunning Slytherin_

 _Who was a proud pureblood wizard_

 _Thought students should be sly and glib_

 _In order to be considered_

 _Wise Ravenclaw who valued virtues_

 _Like wisdom and intellect_

 _Wanted only those of sharpest minds_

 _For her teachings to affect_

 _But then the kind, just Hufflepuff_

 _She shared her own opinion_

 _She told the other founders_

 _That all students deserve admission_

 _So now you see me here today_

 _In order to decide_

 _Which school house you belong in_

 _Between the four I will divide_

 _So go on, place me on your head_

 _Do not fear my decision_

 _For in the end, it all depends_

 _On your own disposition!_

As soon as its song was finished, the rip in the brim of the hat constituting as a mouth shut, and there was silence in the hall. Professor McGonagall unfurled a scroll and said loudly "Anderson, Sally!" Sally, a girl with olive skin and dark curls, walked towards the front of the room. She sat down on the stool and the Professor placed the sorting hat on her head. Less than 10 seconds later, the hat shouted "HUFFLEPUFF!" grinning, Sally Anderson hopped down from the stool and joined the table of cheering Hufflepuffs.

"Batinti, John!" A pale, blond boy went to the front. He st for much longer than the previous girl. At least 40 seconds, before being sorted into "GRYFFINDOR!"

Next, Colin Creevey, the boy from the boat who was talking nonstop about Harry Potter went. He eagerly sat on the stool while the hat was placed on him. The brim fell over his eears, covering his eyes, but as he had hoped, the hat soon shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" He almost ran to the Gryffindor table the moment the hat had been taken off, beaming, he took his place at the table.

The students were quickly leaving to their assigned tables, and before Luna knew it, "Levins, Simone!" was sorted into Slytherin.

Professor McGonagall looked at her list. "Lovegood, Luna!" she called out. As she walked to the front, she could see the Colin, the Weasley twins, and Hermione at the Gryffindor table watching her, along with the headmaster. Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled from behind his spectacles as she made her way to the front and sat on the stool. The hat was placed on her head, and, like Colin, it covered her eyes.

 _Hmm… a Lovegood. It's been a long while since I had one of you. Now where should we put you?_ Luna could tell it knew what she wanted. _Ravenclaw, eh? I think we could make a fine Gryffindor out of you. Or perhaps a Hufflepuff. But there's brains there, no doubt, and you'd do well there. I suppose, that means_ "RAVENCLAW!" with a booming voice, the hat shouted the last word aloud for the whole room to hear. The hat was removed, and she could see Dumbledore looking at her, still smiling, as he applauded politely.

Luna walked over to the clapping Ravenclaw table, and took a seat at the table next to an Asian girl with long, sleek, black hair who was talking animatedly to a girl with curly hair.

McGonagall continued to call names from her list "Scamander, Rolf!" she shouted. The boy from the boat walked confidently up to the stool. He pushed his brown curls from his eyes as he sat down and the hat was placed on his head. He took an unusually long time for the hat to make a decision. After a minute or so, it finally shouted "RAVENCLAW!" and smirking slightly, Rolf Scamander came over to the Ravenclaw table and sat in the empty seat next to Luna. She turned to look at him.

"I'm Rolf Scamander." he introduced himself, offering her his hand to shake. She took it, "I'm Luna. Luna Lovegood." she then asked "Your grandfather wrote _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,_ right?"

"Yeah," he said, shrugging in the way of one who had been asked the question many times before. "Is your father Xenophilius Lovegood?" He asked her.

"Yes. Why, do you know him?"

"His magazine published an article a couple years back. _Seven Magical Beasts Newt Scamander Neglected to Include in his Book,_ was the title, I believe."

"Oh. He told me about that, I think. I was surprised the crumple-horned snorkack wasn't included, though." she told him.

He looked at her with interest. "And what _is_ a crumple-horned snorkack, might I ask?"

"I thought you would know, being the son of a famous magical zoologist and all. They're magical creatures, native to Sweden. Their horns have magical properties, and they're very rare, they've almost ever been seen before." she explained as "Troy, Alexander!" was sorted into Ravenclaw. He sat down across the long table from Rolf and Luna.

By now, the sorting was nearly done. "Weasley, Ginny!" was called to the hat and was sorted into Gryffindor within 5 seconds of the hat being placed on her head. Luna clapped, but was a bit disappointed they wouldn't be in the same house

Before she and Rolf could continue their discussion, the Headmaster rose from his chair. "If I could have your attention for just a moment, please." he said politely, and a hush fell over the school. "Thank you. I wish to deprive you from this wonderful feast for as little time as possible, but I have a few start of term notices. First, I would like to welcome our new students to Hogwarts, and the same to our returning students. Second, our caretaker Argus Filch wishes to remind you there is a blanket ban on fanged frisbees, dungbombs, stink-pellets, and a great number of other things. 438, I think it was at last count." His twinkling blue eyes seemed to look towards the Weasley twins when he said this. "If you wish to see the full list, it is available at Mr. Filch's office. Next, I would like to inform you of a small change in staff. Gilderoy Lockhart, acclaimed author and winner of a various list of awards, all of which," he said, his eyes twinkling "I'm sure he will inform you of in great detail."

At this, a teacher from the end of the staff table rose and gave an exaggerated bow, first towards the headmaster and his fellow teachers, then to the students, before sitting back down.

Dumbledore continued with his speech "Lastly, I should mention that the Forbidden Forest is strictly forbidden, as many of you likely inferred from the name. And with no further ado, the feast." He finished off his speech by grandly gesturing towards the tables and sitting down. The moment he waved his arms, the tables filled with platters of food: chips, chicken, flagons of pumpkin juice, and what seemed like every food imaginable, including peppermints for some reason. Luna helped herself to some food along with several of the mints. Rolf and the boy across from them, Alexander Troy, started talking about blood status. Luna noticed at the staff table McGonagall, Dumbledore, and a teacher with black, greasy hair talking. After a moment, they all walked out of the Great Hall.

Luna turned her attention back to the conversing boys at her table. "I'm muggleborn. Bit of a shock for my parents, but they were really pleased. Someone came and explained it all to them." Alexander was telling Rolf.

"What about you?" Rolf asked Luna.

"Both my parents were magic. My mum loved muggle things, though. She thought it was brilliant, the things they do without magic."

"Do you two already know how to do magic, then? Because you come from wizard families, I mean." Alexander asked.

"I haven't learned anything from my family. I mean, I've _seen_ them do magic all the time, but I've never done any. Not really." Rolf answered him reassuringly.

"Me neither," said Luna. "Well, I practiced a bit on the train, I made my wand light up. And I can turn the light off. But it took me ages to do." Luna told them.

"I wish I could do that." Alex said dejectedly. "I'll probably be the worst in every class."  
"I don't think so." Luna said. "You were sorted into Ravenclaw, so even if you don't know anything now, you'll probably be able to pick it up pretty quickly." she explained matter of factly. "Besides, loads of other students won't know anything either, so you'd have to do quite terribly to be at the very bottom of the class." this analysis made the two boys laugh.

Soon after, the last traces of the meal disappeared and were replaced with pudding. Luna chewed a treacle tart thoughtfully as Rolf talked about which classes he was looking forward to. "... though you don't start learning Care of Magical Creatures until third year anyway,. But I've always thought Transfiguration sounded cool…"

Eventually, the pudding vanished from the table and Dumbledore, who had returned while the three had been talking, rose to address them once more. "Now that we have all enjoyed our wonderful feast, the prefects will lead you to your dormitories. Goodnight, and hopefully you will all be rested and ready for tomorrow's lessons. Off you pop!" and with that, the benches were pushed back resulting in a deafening scraping noise, and the students of Hogwarts made their way to their rooms.


	4. Chapter 4

"First years, follow me!" commanded a girl with long, blond, curly hair. She was wearing a Ravenclaw prefects badge, and had been talking to the red-haired prefect at the station. She walked to the front of the group, and led them from the Great Hall and up the marble staircases.

Luna had been next to Rolf and Alex when she left the hall, but they had gotten separated by the crowd. After following the prefect up several flight of stairs, the group stopped outside a door with a eagle-shaped knocker. The door was simple and made of wood, but had no doorknob or keyhole.

"In order to get in," the prefect explained to the group of first years, "You have to answer a riddle the knocker asks." she knocked once, the sharp noise of knuckle on wood ringing. "If you give a correct answer, you will be let in. If not, you will have to wait for someone else to come open it for you by answering correctly. That way, you learn."

The voice was clear and loud as it asked "What is present until one says its name?" the knocker asked.

The prefect looked at the group. "Does anyone have an answer?" she asked.

In response, it was quiet for a moment before Luna spoke. "Silence." she answered on behalf of the others. The knocker responded in a cool voice "correct." before swinging open to admit them into the Ravenclaw common room.

"Well done." the prefect told her as she entered the room behind her fellow first years. "I'm Penelope Clearwater, by the way. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me."

Luna nodded distantly as she entered the room. The Ravenclaw common room was large and airy. The circular floor was carpeted in a thick, midnight blue, and there was a white marble statue by the wall. It was of an elegant, proud looking woman, wearing a crown, with the words engraved at the base: _wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure._ The domed ceiling was painted blue, with white stars dotted across it. Large windows looked over the Hogwarts grounds. The lake, quidditch pitch, gardens, and the edge of the forbidden forest all were visible from the common room. There were multiple bookshelves lining the walls, and a fireplace with armchairs and tables scattered around it. Behind the statue, on either side were staircases.

"Dormitories are behind the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw. Boys on the left and girl on the right. Just follow the staircase up." Penelope Clearwater told them. "Your belongings will be by your beds."

Luna followed these instructions quickly, before anyone else went up. She took the door on the right to another circular room, this one with four four-poster beds with blue drapings. Each bed had a small wooden desk and chair next to it, and there was two shelves built into the wall above the desk.

Luna saw her trunk next to one of the beds and walked over to it, and sat down on the bed. She removed the books she had brought and placed them on the shelves, placing novels on one shelf and textbooks from the other. She then slung a shoulder-bookbag she had packed in her trunk on the chair.

By now, the three other girls she would be sharing a room with had come up the stairs. As they began unpacking their belongings, Luna changed into her pyjamas. She took her wand off the desk where she had left it, and took _The Hobbit_ off the shelf. Yawning, she crawled under the covers of her four poster bed, which was right next to a window, from which she had a good view of the grounds.

She turned her attention to her wand, and focusing hard, she said clearly but quietly "Lumos." to illuminate her wand. One girl, who had been looking around from the bed next to Luna's looked at her, impressed.

Luna opened her book and read for a while by wandlight, before whispering "Nox." and setting down her book and wand on the table next to her.

Within minutes, she had drifted off to sleep.

.oO0Oo.

When Luna woke, the sun had just barely risen. The sun warmed the Hogwarts grounds, but there was an early-morning chill in the air. Looking at the clock on the wall, Luna realized she had plenty of time until breakfast, as it was only 5:40. She got up and quickly got dressed, taking care not to forget her necklace. She sat herself at her desk and found parchment and a quill and ink in the drawer. Unscrewing the ink pot's lid, she dipped her quill and began to write.

 _Dad,_

 _How are you? I've been doing well so far. I've been sorted into Ravenclaw, and I think I made and everyone seems nice. The castle is amazing, and I start classes in a couple of hours. But I already learned how to do lumos and nox on the train ride. I was wondering if you could send me the next edition of_ The Quibbler _when it's ready. If you can, please do. It'd be nice to be able to keep up with them while I'm here. Thanks._

 _I hope you're doing well, and I'll write to you as soon as possible._

 _Love,_

 _Luna_

When she finished writing her letter, she placed her school books, wand, quill and ink, along with the parchment, into her shoulder bag. She slung it over her shoulder and, taking care not to wake any of her roommates, she quietly went down the stairs into the common room. From there, she left the common room, taking the long spiral staircase down from Ravenclaw tower. She found her way into a hallway, and walked, almost silently, towards the owlery.

After around 5 minutes of wandering, she saw a silvery mist in the corner of her eye. She turned around to find herself looking at a silvery, transparent young woman.

As soon as the woman saw Luna looking at her she turned away to leave.

"No. Wait, please." Luna said. "Who are you?" she asked, her large eyes growing even larger. "My name's Luna. I'm in Ravenclaw. I need help finding the owlery. Could you please help me?"

The woman looked at her for a moment. "I am the Grey Lady. I am the ghost of Ravenclaw tower" hesitating slightly she added, "It has been a long time since a student approached me." she hesitated a moment, something miniscule changing in her expression. She then said, "follow me." and without any more explanation, drifted off down the hallway.

Luna hurried to follow her, going down more hallways going towards, Luna assumed, the owlery. They were both silent as they travelled quietly but quickly to Luna's destination. When they got there Luna broke the silence. "Thank you." she said gratefully.

The Grey Lady looked at her, hesitating before replying "It was my pleasure."

Luna smiled at her one last time before walking into the room full of owls, expecting the ghost to leave her there.

There were at least a hundred owls there, of all different colors and sizes, and multiple large windows on every side of the room for them to fly out of. The stone floor was littered with feathers and the remains of the owls' meals.

Luna walked over towards a perch. Sitting on it was a black owl with large amber eyes. When Luna stuck out her arm, the bird hopped gently onto it.

"This is for Xenophilius Lovegood," she told the owl. "He lives by the edge of Ottery st. Catchpole, in the house shaped like a rook chess piece.

The black owl hooted twice before taking the letter Luna gave her and flying off through the window. Luna watched her leave, the owl flying gracefully over the treetops, until the bird was out of sight.

When she exited the owlery, planning to find her way to the Great Hall for breakfast, she was surprised to see the Grey Lady was waiting outside for her.

"I would assume you need to get to the Great Hall?" the ghost asked her.

"Yes. And If it isn't any trouble could you please take me there?" Luna requested.

The Grey Lady looked at her with piercing eyes. "It would be no trouble, Luna Lovegood."

And with that, the two set off, ghost and girl, walking soundlessly through Hogwarts.


	5. Chapter 5

By the time the rest of the Ravenclaws made it to breakfast, Luna was nearly finished with her eggs. When she finished eating, she removed _The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1,_ and began trying to levitate her fork. This time, she was almost certain it had moved an inch or so, when Alexander Troy came over and sat next to her.

"Hello, Alexander." she greeted him, still focused intently on her spoon.

"Hi, Luna." he said, "And just Alex is fine."

Luna nodded. "Wingardium Leviosa!" she said again pointing her wand at her fork. Alex looked at her funny. "What are you doing?" he asked her, looking confused.

"I'm trying to make my fork levitate." She explained to him.

"Oh. Okay."

As they were talking, Luna noticed there was a commotion at the Gryffindor table. Luna looked over interestedly as a red-haired boy, sitting next to a boy with dark hair and glasses, looked in panic at a red envelope he was holding. She could see people begin to laugh as he gingerly opened the flap of what Luna now realized was a howler.

"Why does that boy look so nervous?" Alex wondered aloud.

"It's a howler." Rolf answered from across the table where he must have sat down while they had been busy watching. "It should explode just about now-" he was interrupted as the letter began to scream at him in a shrill female voice louder than Luna would have thought possible for a piece of mail. Something about a car and Harry Potter and the Ministry.

Rolf and Alex winced in sympathy for the receiver of the howler. Meanwhile, the heads of houses were walking up and down the spaces between the tables, giving people their schedules.

When Professor Flitwick got to her, he nodded. "Yes, Luna Lovegood," he muttered to himself, as he waved his wand over a blank piece of paper, on which Luna's schedule magically appeared. She had Transfiguration first period, but it didn't start until a little later, Luna noticed, examining her schedule, and it was only 7:45. So she set off to the library.

When she entered, the first thing she noticed was the smell. It smelled exactly like any library would, of paper and ink and wooden shelves and leather bound books. There were dozens bookcases, dozens of shelves, hundreds of books. Luna inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent.

Browsing amongst the shelves, Luna noticed a section labeled 'Muggle Fiction' which she went over to. Extracting from a shelf a Sherlock Holmes novel " _The Hound of the Baskervilles,"_ she went to check it out, was glared at by the bat-like librarian, Madam Pince, and stuck the book in her bag so she would have something to read later.

She wandered down a corridor before sitting down on the bottom step of a marble staircase and beginning to read. She didn't look up again for another half an hour, when, noticing the time, she stood up and put her things into her bag, walking towards the Transfiguration classroom.

She arrived three minutes early, and took a seat in the second row of desks as the rest of the Ravenclaw students came in.

"Good morning to you all. I am Professor McGonagall." she looked at the class, and promptly turned her desk into a small horse, and then back. The class looked a her in was. "That was _brilliant_." Luna heard Alex say from the back of the classroom. "Thank you for that kind assessment, Mr. Troy. Over the course of this year, we will be working with transfiguring small, inanimate objects. Of course, It will not be until at least 6th year that we will be transfiguring furniture into animals. That type of magic is highly complex, and it takes years to master." The class looked slightly disappointed at that. Now if you would all turn to page 1 of _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration._ Mr. Troy, if you would be so kind as to read for us."

.o0O0o.

After Transfiguration and History of Magic, Luna went back to the Great Hall for lunch. History of Magic was taught by a ghost name Professor Binns, who had droned on for the full period without stopping once. Luna had found it excruciatingly dull, listening to him lecture, and had abandoned her note-taking attempts after 10 minutes. She highly suspected there was a nest of wrackspurts in there, her brain had felt fuzzy from the very beginning of the class.

Arriving in the Great Hall, she took a seat at the Ravenclaw table. She could see Rolf and Alex talking a little down the table, but she didn't want to interrupt them.

She let her eyes wander over the room. At the Gryffindor table, she could see Hermione from the train sitting with the boys who Luna assumed must be Ron Weasley and Harry Potter.

As she scooped lasagna onto her plate, she thought about Rolf and Alex. They had been nice to her, but they had clearly formed a closer bond between the two of them. She wondered if that still meant they were friends with her. She had never had a friend before.

.o0O0o.

When she arrived to Defense against the dark arts with the rest of the Ravenclaws, there was no teacher in the classroom. When the Gryffindors came, with whom they shared the class, their teacher was still not yet there.

The walls of the classroom were decorated with dozens of autographed photos, all of the same man. There were close-ups, ones of him brandishing his wand at some unknown danger, and one full sized one the height of a real person.

Luna spotted Ginny from across the room, and walked over to her. "Hi Ginny." she said brightly. "We met on the train?"

"Hi, Luna." Ginny said. Luna was glad she remembered her. "Do you know where professor Lockhart is?" she asked as they sat down at adjacent desks.

Just then, the lights dimmed dramatically, and the class quieted, though whispered conversations continued between some students. A voice echoed grandly from the doorway of the darkened classroom. "Gilderoy Lockhart: Best-selling author, Order of Merlin, third class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League," the voice said, " _five_ -time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award. _And_ … your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor." The lights turned back on, revealing the teacher who had bowed at the start of term feast.

He was fairly handsome, Luna supposed. He had wavy blond hair and exceptionally straight, white teeth. He was wearing overly extravagant robes with a flamboyant purple cape. "Hello, my pupils. I, Professor Lockhart, would like to welcome you to Defense against the dark arts. In this class you will see many things, some of which may shock you, some of which may terrify you. This class." he said pompously strutting about the room "is not for the faint of heart, nor those weak of mind." Finishing off his speech, he sat down at his desk at the front of the room. "Today, we will be taking a small quiz." the students in Luna's class looked worried by this. "No need to be alarmed. It is merely a few short questions to gauge how well you know your teacher. That is to say, me."

Luna was a bit worried about that. She knew nothing about him. She had never read one of his books, and had never heard of him until Dumbledore's speech.

As Lockheart handed out the "short quizzes", which were in fact 3 pages with 54 questions on them, Luna leaned over towards Ginny. "Do you know anything about this man?" she asked her quietly.

Ginny responded whispering "yeah, my mum's a fan. We went to a book signing in Diagon Alley. We've got some of his household books at home. _Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests,_ that sort of thing."

Luna nodded in response as she looked to the first question of the test: What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?

Having no idea, she wrote purple (the color of his cloak) and moved onto the next question: what is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest ambition? She answered that he wanted to be Minister of Magic, despite, once again, having no idea. The next question asked what, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date? She thought about it for a moment. Luna had an excellent memory, her father told her she had been bitten by a gnome as a child which must have contributed to that particular talent. She wrote down the credentials he had given them and continued taking the quiz in this manner until the teacher called "Time's up! Please bring your tests to the front to be graded!"

Sighing, Luna brought her parchment to the front and laid it on the stack of papers already on the desk. She felt for certain she must have failed.

Lockhart flipped through the papers, as he told them "Well done, although hardly any of you got question 12 correct," he continued pacing the room going on in the same manner "and _very_ few of you knew my birthday. Tsk tsk." he sat down at his desk and removed a quill from his desk and graded them relatively quickly.

When he finished with this, he handed out the quizzes. Luna looked apprehensively at her face-down paper, along with the rest of the class. She flipped it over to see a 42/54.

Ginny glanced over to see Luna's paper, most of the class was doing the same to each other, comparing scores and such.

As the class was dismissed, the first years filed out, and Ginny caught up with Luna. "How'd you do so well?" she asked her "I thought you didn't know anything about him."

Luna looked at her and responded "I didn't know, I made it all up." which made Ginny laugh, and together, they walked down the hallway.


	6. Chapter 6

**Quick note: Sorry it's been so long since my last update, I've been really busy and have had some writer's block. Unfortunately, I can't promise that I'll update regularly, but I will do my best. Thanks for for your patience, and feel free (but not obligated) to leave a review. Thank you.**

Before Luna knew it, she had been at Hogwarts for nearly two months. Her classes were interesting, and she was maintaining generally high grades in most of her classes. Alex and Rolf had been polite to her, but hadn't been spending much time with her. Many students seemed to think her to be a bit strange, although Ginny had been fairly nice. She still saw the Gray Lady in the castle from time to time, and made frequent trips to the library.

Luna had taken to wandering the school grounds during free time. Her escapades had brought her through secret hallways, up and down nearly all of the 142 staircases in Hogwarts, along the edge of the Forbidden Forest (not in it though) and by the hut of the giant man who had lead the first-years up to the castle. She was wandering by on a Saturday morning on October the 31st when she saw him watering the pumpkin patch by his house. "Excuse me, but do you have the time?" she asked him, drifting nearer to look at his plants.

"Half past ten." he told her.

"Oh, thank you." she told him. She had planned to make it back to the common room by noon, as she had some transfiguration homework that needed to be done. She continued to peer curiously at the pumpkin patch. "They're unusually large, aren't they? I've never seen pumpkins that size before." she questioned him.

"Well, I - er - I mean strictly speaking, I'm not supposed to use magic, but they're used for Halloween, and if you just use an engorgement charm, it speeds up the growth but people aren't really meant to know and - er -"

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone." she told him confidently.

"Thanks," he mumbled. "Er- would you like to come in for some tea?" he asked her awkwardly.

"Yes, that would be lovely." she accepted the invitation.

"I'm Rubeus Hagrid. I'm the groundskeeper." he explained as Luna followed him into the house. It seemed small compared to him, but to Luna, it was huge. It was a single room, with a fireplace, kitchen, bed with an enormous patchwork quilt, and a wooden table with chairs around it. A pink umbrella leaned against the wall in the corner. There were countless items hanging from the ceiling, including meats, silvery hair, and dried plants. He gestured towards one of the chairs, and Luna sat down on one. "I'm Luna Lovegood." she introduced herself, shaking his massive hand.

Rubeus Hagrid bustled around the kitchen, handing her a large cup filled with a pale brown liquid in it. "Dandelion tea." he told her.

She took a sip as he sat down in the seat opposite her when a big, black boarhound approached the table, sniffing at Luna before laying his head in her lap, drooling slightly.

"Is this your firs' year?" he asked her politely.

She nodded in response, taking another sip of her tea. It had a fresh sort of flavor, not very sweet. "I'm in Ravenclaw."

"I was in Gryffindor, myself. I was expelled though, in my third year. Dumbledore let me stay on the grounds after my dad died, though." he took a long swig of his drink. "Great man, Dumbledore. Great man."

"My mother died, too." Luna told him, somewhat sadly. "When I was 9."

"It's always tough, losing a parent." he told her. "I'm sorry about your mum."

"It's alright. I miss her quite often, though. I'm sorry about your dad." Luna replied quietly, petting Fang.

The talked about Luna's classes and various other things when suddenly, Hagrid looked up "Blimey, is that the time already? I need to help prepare for the feast!"

"Oh, is that today?" Luna said interestedly. Halloween had never been something she'd really celebrated before.

"Sorry, Luna. I've got to go. I expect I'll see you around. Feel free to stop by if you'd like."  
Luna smiled "Thank you for the tea. It was nice meeting you, Rubeus Hagrid." She stood up to leave. "Bye, Fang." she said, scratching the dog's head one last time before going back up to the castle.

.o0O0o.

The smell of pumpkin drifted through the castle as Luna went downstairs to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast. There were jack o'lanterns hovering near the ceiling, along with what appeared to be live bats. Hagrid's enormous pumpkins decorated the room, carved and large enough to fit three people. The Ravenclaw table was quickly filling up with students, and students chatted amiably with each other as food appeared on the tables, filling up the golden platters.

Luna helped herself to a baked potato as she listened to others' conversations: The girl a few seats down had done well on a test, the boy across the table had gotten detention, a ghost was on his way to attend some sort of party.

In a way, she was a bit disappointed she had no one to talk to, but she wasn't sure what they would talk about even if she did.

At some point, Penelope Clearwater sat next to her. They made small talk for a bit, talking about classes and a Gryffindor prefect Penelope was dating.

When Luna had finished her pudding, she looked around one last time and left the room, strolling back to Ravenclaw tower. By now, the other students had probably left the feast. She turned a corner to see three Gryffindor students standing in the middle of the corridor. One was Hermione, and the other two were the ones who had been missing on the train ride, Harry Potter and the redhead, Ron. Luna hid herself from their view, sticking only her head past the corner. Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, was hanging from a torch by her tail, there was a puddle of water on the floor beneath her, and on the wall, painted in deep crimson, read the words:

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED, ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

She hesitated for a moment, unsure of what she should do. Nargles often would do these sort of things, but they couldn't write, so they were ruled out. As she considered the possibilities of what could have done it, the rest of the school came noisily up the stairs, streaming into the hallway. They grew silent, though, as they noticed the cat, pressing forwards to get a better view of the scene. Then, a voice rang through the hall "Enemies of the heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!" it was a blond, Slytherin boy, his pale skin flushed.

Luna was shocked to hear the insult. Mudblood was a rude name for muggle-borns, often used by pure-blood supremacists.

Just then, Argus Filch ran down the corridor, and upon noticing his cat, began shrieking at Harry Potter like a madman. Luna wouldn't have been surprised if the caretaker had murdered him on the spot, but lucky for the Gryffindor student, the headmaster was hurrying over to the distressed caretaker and students, the rest of the school making a path for him. He told the four of them to come with him, and they left the crowded area.

The teachers herded the rest of the students back to their common rooms, Professor McGonagall bustling through, announcing "Prefects, if you would please lead your houses to the dormitories. Teachers, please come with me!"

As Penelope Clearwater and the other Ravenclaw prefect lead them to the rooms, Luna found herself next to Rolf. "Hey, Luna." he said.

"Hi, Rolf."

"So. it's pretty crazy that Harry Potter murdered Filch's cat, right. He's the one that nuts kid from the boat was obsessed with, right?"

"Colin, you mean," she said, somewhat coldly. "And I don't think Harry Potter killed the cat."

"Come on, Luna. Who else could it have been?"

"I don't know, but I don't think it was him." she persisted. "He wouldn't do something like that."

"How would you know?" he scoffed. "Don't be loony." he added, somewhat rudely, in luna's opinion. "I'm going to find Alex." and with that, he disappeared into the crowd to find his friend.

"It wasn't him." Luna said to herself, earning several odd looks from students passing by her. "It wasn't Harry Potter."


	7. Chapter 7

"Hello, Colin." Luna said, sitting down next to the boy who was eagerly clutching his camera, taking pictures of the stands with loud clicks.

The weather wet and dreary that day, yet with a feeling of anticipation in the air, or perhaps just the thunder that seemed would be coming at any moment. Drizzling rain water splashed off the goalposts towering 50 feet above the ground. There was a slight wind, blowing north across the quidditch pitch, spraying the rain across the eager onlookers who filled the stands.

It was the first quidditch game of the season, and Colin, who had been watching every Gryffindor practice, was certain that they would beat Slytherin. Luna had opted to sit with the Gryffindors instead of with her house, and was sitting in a row with Colin Creevy and Ginny Weasley. She saw Hagrid and waved as he made his way to sit beside Harry Potter's friends. The three of them cheered as the Gryffindor team walked out onto the pitch. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws also hoped to see Slytherin beaten, but the Slytherins boos and hisses could still be heard along with the cheering and clapping.

"He's there! It's Harry!" Colin told the two girls loudly over the din the crowds were making. He took several pictures of the black haired boy standing with his broomstick.

As far as Luna could tell, Colin had memorized the second-year's schedule and made it a point to greet him whenever possible. Despite these frequent meetings, Colin's enthusiasm had no less diminished upon seeing the boy, if anything, he had grown more excitable.

Madam Hooch, the quidditch teacher who had taught flying lessons to the first years, released the snitch and threw the quaffle into the air, starting the game.

Colin watched the match eagerly, pointing out various things to the two girls, neither of whom were particularly impressed by his commentary.

As the game progressed, Luna noticed something. "Ginny," she said quietly, "does that bludger seem… odd to you?"

"How do you mean?" asked the red-head curiously.

"It looks as if it's following Harry Potter." Luna told her.  
"I'm not sure, Luna. I mean, they're _meant_ to follow people, aren't they?" Ginny told her, shrugging it off.

"Colin?" Luna asked, but he was too focused on the game.

Eventually losing interest in the match, Luna opened up the bag she always had with her and unfurled the latest edition of _The Quibbler_ that her father had sent her. She had just started on an article about recent sightings of crumple-horned snorkacks when she heard gasps and screams. Hastily rolling up the magazine and shoving it in her bag, she stood up in her seat to get a better look of what was happening: Harry Potter was on the ground with Professor kneeling over him, a sheepish look on the Professor's face as he bent back Harry Potter's arm completely.

As the teachers escorted the dark-haired boy back towards the castle, the boy with dreadlocks who announced the game shouted out to the crowds Gryffindor's victory, earning cheers from the red and gold clad supporters along with many from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.

.o0O0o.

Even from the opposite end of the hall, Luna could spot the fiery red hair making its way down the crowded corridor, head bent down, clutching a black book.

"Hi, Luna. Um… I don't know if you've heard, but um… Colin's been petrified." she looked around nervously. "I've only just heard, but I thought you might want to know."

Luna looked thoughtfully into her green eyes, darting around the hall, when out of the corner of her eye, she saw two more red-heads walking towards the two girls. "Hey Ginny!" said George Weasley, appearing from behind his younger sister.

"Did you hear about the boy in your year?" said Fred.

Ginny nodded mutely as George began talking again. "You reckon it's the monster?" he asked her, grinning mischievously with an air of an older sibling trying to scare a younger one.

"What monster?" Luna asked interestedly, interrupting their conversation.

"Oh, hi, Luna." Fred piped up from besides his twin.

"The monster that lives in the Chamber of Secrets, of course." George explained.

"It only goes after muggleborns," George said.

"And cats, I suppose." Fred added, nodding in the direction of the wall where Mrs. Norris had been found, dangling from the wall.

"Well anyway, we've got things to do,-"

"People to see. Bye Ginny, Luna." and with that, the twins were off, their red hair and black robes becoming lost in the sea of students crowded in the hall. Luna turned back to Ginny.

"Do you really think there's a monster?" Luna asked Ginny.

An unreadable expression slipped over her face as she quickly responded "I don't know. But I have class, I've got to go." and she, like her brothers, walked away, clutching her black book to her chest and slipping between people to make it to wherever she was going.

.o0O0o.

The bushy-haired girl from the train, Hermione, was walking quickly down the hall, followed by Harry Potter and Ginny's older brother, Ronald. The three could be seen rushing eagerly towards the girls' bathroom. But Luna knew people rarely went in there, because of the ghost haunting it. Especially not boys. Gathering up her things, she watched the door they'd slipped through. It was five minutes before the three came back out, whispering to each other. Luna swiftly swung her bag over her shoulder and went into the bathroom. It was a fairly ordinary bathroom, with the exception of what was in the corner. A girl was there. A ghostly, transparent, sobbing girl. It took her a few seconds to notice Luna, but when she did, she let out a ghastly wail, which echoed across the bathroom tiles.

"And I suppose you're here to make fun of me, too! Stupid, ugly Myrtle!" She cried, dramatically covering her face with her hands.

Luna tilted her head slightly to the side, trying to get a better look at the ghost-girl's face. "I won't make fun of you."

This only seemed to worsen her despair. "Of course _you_ won't! It's not like _everyone_ does it! I'm sure you won't!" Myrtle's voice shrieked, heavy with sarcasm.

The blonde girl waited a moment before responding, and when she did, she spoke softly. "Who's been making fun of you, Myrtle?"

"That idiotic, red-haired _buffoon_! Coming in here with his little friends, doing _God_ knows what over there!" at this, she gestured vaguely in the direction of the bathroom stalls. "He seems to think it's _funny_ to make fun of poor me!" the ghost ended this with a moan and dove into a toilet.

Walking slowly across the now empty room, Luna opened each of the stall doors, eventually coming to a peculiar one. Inside of it, was a cauldron, steaming slightly, and emitting a somewhat odorous smell. The potion's (for that was what it clearly was, Luna reasoned) mud like surface bubbled sisterly.

She left the bathroom, walking quickly back to Ravenclaw Tower, pondering what she had found.

She'd recently heard of more petrifications: one of the ghosts along with a second-year Hufflepuff had both been brought to the Hospital Wing, where Colin Creevey remained, lying motionless, all three of them presumably waiting for some sort of cure which the Headmaster had promised.


End file.
